Apache Plume after the active flowering period. White petals have fallen off and it has begun seed production in whispy plumes.
Apache Plume is a sweet desert plant that is a member of the rose family, hence, its flower resembles that of a single-petaled rose. It is the only member of the Genus Fallugia. Several small, white flowers appear in the photo above on the far right side. It’s not really grown for the flowers but for the wonderful whispy tufts, once it goes to seed. They persist for weeks or months, so Apache Plume has plenty of appeal in a garden setting.
Apache Plume blossoms and new buds.
It can be found growing on rocky slopes in High Desert areas, primarily in Piñon-Juniper woodlands. Apache Plume is extremely drought and sun tolerant because of its many adaptations to fend off the effects of a harsh climate. Its tiny leaves do not give off much moisture in respiration. Its white flower petals reflect away the hard mid-day sun’s rays. Even its bark is blanched white.
Look at the flowers in these photos. Is it any wonder that it is in the Rose Family?
It’s flowers are small and white with five rounded petals and yellow stamen, but more attention is given to the tuft of wispy red/burgundy plume-like, feathery styles that appear from the ovary once the flower is spent and the petals have fallen off. That’s what is shown in the top photograph and in those at the bottom of this page.
Each style is connected to an achene, the developing fruit containing a single seed. When mature, the achenes with their seed attached to the feathery style are caught by a breeze and dispersed on the wind. Seeds are extremely small. The rose hip of the rose plant is a fruit also containing achenes, but of substantial size.
Click here to see more images of the Apache Plume plant, particularly close-ups of the rose-like flower. These are from the Calphotos collection at UC Berkeley.
Its bark is a whitish-grey, peeling woody stem, and many branched, as you can see in the photographs.
It is the quintessential example of the tiny leaves and reduced flowers adaptations to conserve water. Notice the ever-so-tiny leaves in the photographs below.
Apache Plume Seed Tufts
Apache Plume Seed Tufts
Notice the reduced leaves of ~ 1cm long that are tiny to prevent loss of moisture through transpiration.
The top of the leave is slightly hairy and the bottom, curled under, is lighter colored.
This shrubby bush can get as big as 6 feet tall and several feet wide. It prefers sandy washes where the soil is loose and gravelly, sites that are common in areas where desert meets mountains (often alluvial fans), such as the high desert of southern California. It can take some cold and a little snow. It flowers from May to June in these elevations (2000-6000 ft).
If you acquire one from a nursery, plant it somewhere that it will be back lit by the sun so you can enjoy images like the ones above.